Portrait of don Biagio Milanesi – Galleria dell’Accademia – Florence
The tablet bears the inscription of the name of don Biagio Milanesi, who in 1500 dressed the role of Abbot and Father General of the Order of the Vallombrosan friars and was also the patron of the altarpiece of Vallombrosa, to which the painting belonged.
The work remarks the ability of Pietro Vannucci as a portraitist, whose decisive lines suggest the influence of Verrocchio; the novelty, however, is the psychological characterization of the subject: Perugino didn’t only represent a high prelate in a state of seraphic abandonment to the divine will, but reveals “earthly” qualities, such as the vivid bright gaze and the hint of his smile. Don Biagio, in fact, not only was the patron of the commission of the magnificent altarpiece of which this table was part of, but, since his wealthy background, he also started a dense activity of patronage
The portrait is preserved at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence.
